Boehner: Romney suffering in Ohio from GOP governor's success

House Speaker John Boehner suggested Friday that Mitt Romney's difficulties in Ohio might be attributable, ironically, to the success of the state's Republican governor.

Boehner, the Republican from southwestern Ohio, praised the work Gov. John Kasich, who has presided over a decreasing unemployment rate in the Buckeye State (though that's partly attributable to a shrinking labor force).

But the speaker suggested, too, that Obama might be benefitting in the key swing state of Ohio from perceptions that the economy has improved.

"One of the things that probably works against Romney in Ohio is that Governor Kasich has done such a good job of fixing government regulations in the state, attracting new businesses in the state so our unemployment in Ohio is lower than the national average," Boehner said in response to a question from NBC News at his press conference on Capitol Hill.

"As a matter of fact, I think it's a full point lower so as a result people are still concerned about the economy and jobs in Ohio but it certainly isn't like what you see in some other places," the speaker added.